The Echosec Blog

Airbnb Top Ten – The Social Media Perspective

or… Air B & Beyond!

Everybody (well, almost everybody) does a bit of research about their travel destinations ahead of their holidays. The tried and true method of scouring websites & books is a great way to learn about a location, but what about discovering the area around your desired temporary abode using real-time, live social data? With location-based search, you can research your Airbnb ahead of time. Learn about your home-away-from-home as experienced by the people who are eating, hiking, and hanging out there right now.

Earlier this year, Airbnb released their `Top 10 Most Popular Properties.’ We thought this would be a great opportunity to use Echosec to explore these popular picks on a hyper-local level. We drew a digital fence around each property to explore what they were really like, without the fancy camera angles and the magic of photoshop. Here’s what we found:

OK so, in this case, it looks like the real-life version of this neighbourhood is as idyllic as an advertisement for the latest and greatest in feel-good pharmaceuticals. I mean, puppies, bicycles, love, flowers, all in the setting of a beautiful park? Looks like a truly lovely getaway.

We all want the same things when we’re perusing listings for our next holiday home. More pictures right?!! The social data surrounding this listing certainly paints the picture of a perfect beach getaway. Looks like the buzz is legit.

Sure, the description of this listing discusses the olive trees, the Duomo, and other typical features of Florentine life most people would be interested in, but they didn’t mention the amount of classic vintage cars that seemingly roll through town from time to time! For that kind of intel, you need to rely on the data produced by your peers via social media

Located in the glorious south-west coast of British Columbia, Canada, This listing looks like the perfect place to soak up the flora and fauna that the Pacific Northwest (or PNW, as the kids are saying) has to offer. And, look at those cute little frogs! (They neglect to mention that it rains. A lot.

If pirates aren’t your thing, you might want to get a sense of what else this listing has to offer. By the looks of it, there’s plenty to do and see in the immediate vicinity of this gem. A hike with a view anyone?

Located in a historic area (well, it’s Rome, so… kinda tough to find a non-historic area) This Airbnb listing speaks of restaurants, pubs, bars, and all around lively-ness nearby. Judging by the social media picture, that description seems to be an accurate one.

How cool is that? When they say “Off the Grid,” they mean it. Aside from a few Reddit posts – (Read about how Reddit works here), there is NO public social media activity happening here. Named by Dwell as one of the Best Homes in America and in the LA Times as one of the best houses of all time in California, this might just be your ultimate private getaway.

OK so, admittedly, this post hasn’t been a gripping exposé about ‘real’ vs ‘fake’ advertising of Airbnb listings. It isn’t showing readers how to ‘spot the imposter’ with the help of Echosec. In every case here, the social data is showing us that indeed, these look like they are all top notch rentals for a magical holiday. Using location-based search to out your temporary neighbourhood, be it for an Airbnb listing, a hotel, or a campsite, is really all about learning from real people all over the world. It’s letting your peers show you a snapshot of their experiences, providing you with insight on what’s to come.

How does your hotel or Airbnb property stack up against the competition?

Schedule a demo with Echosec to find out.

Note – Social data is live, and constantly changing. The data shown here represents is what we found at the time this post was written.